The Ambassadors
by Queen of the Rings
Summary: Araelle and Brianne, a pair of Mirkwood Elves volunteer to go ahead of the Fellowship of the Ring to the Kingdoms of Man and the Elven-City of Lothlorien to remove obstacles and act as heralds. This makes things... different. Especially when Brianne is an accomplished Healer, and Araelle can See the future.
1. Prologue

In the Kingdom of Mirkwood, once called Greenwood the Great, ruled by the King Thranduil and his son Prince Legolas, two Elf Ladies of his court travelled to Rivendell. The elleth were beautiful, sharing many facial features with the Prince - his mother Luineth was their Aunt. The older elf, named Brianne, was darker in colouring. Though her skin was fair, her eyes were dark, and her hair fell in tangled dark brown curls to her waist. The younger Araelle, her cousin, had blue-grey eyes and waves of strawberry blonde hair.

They had left Greenwood to travel to Rivendell in order to study under Elrond Peredhel. It was mere months into their two-year stay when Glorfindel arrived, holding an injured hobbit.

And that is where this story starts.

**So, I have two more chapters of this, and am most of the way through the third. I'll be posting them shortly.**

**As I haven't posted anything in a long time, this is a quick update as to the status of my other stories.**

**Oracle – **_the big one. I am struggling with the sixth chapter, Artemis. When its done, I'll put it out._

**A Name for Hope - **_This has been marked as a One-Shot and will not be continued. I might put up the bits and pieces that come along with this. A spirit-sequel featuring Sister and her boys might come later._

**Change – **_This one is unfortunate. I've lost inspiration, so will slowly be putting up the bits and pieces I have left before marking it complete and maybe putting it up for adoption._

**Percy Jackson's Defence Against the Dark Arts (And also Monsters) – **_I'm currently missing the USB where the draft for Chapter 3 is, and I don't really have a plot to it anyway. On indefinite Hiatus._

**Sea of the Moon – **_I'm going to count both this and _**Hogwarts Heroes**_ as complete, I've lost inspiration completely_.

**I haven't really been writing much this year – at least not anything I'd post. My dog died in the middle of last year, 17 years old we had to put him down. Jock was older than I am, and he is missed. However, we got a new dog, a spitfire of a Westie puppy, a beautiful boy named Hector for the hero in the Iliad. (finally, my mythology obsession pays off!) I finished and passed Year 10, getting an A+ on my History exam in Semester 1, but also a D in Maths Semester 2. I have several ideas, as always, I write huge amounts, very little of which I'm actually happy with, or have enough of an idea to put together a story -or even part of one. **

**Thank you for reading, and the changes will be implemented soon. All of my love goes to you. Feedback is greatly welcomed.**

**~Queen of the Rings**


	2. 1 - Three rings for the elven-kings

Brianne was in her bed again. However, Araelle mused, because Brianne was taller, her head resting above Araelle's, and the rest of Brianne fit neatly around her. One arm was slung over Araelle's hips. Cracking open one blue-grey eye, Araelle glanced at the other bed in the room, not three steps away. Made of dark wood, finely carved, it was the mirror image of the one she now lay in, though somehow less, because Brianne wasn't there. She wondered if Brianne had felt the same way, and if that was why she was wrapped around Araelle.

Brianne must have been working into the late hours of the night, for the Healing Halls were never empty. The hobbit that had been rushed into Brianne's temporary domain had lain in the Halls for days, and Brianne had bullied her way into becoming one of his healers.

Rivendell was nice, but Araelle longed for the cool shade of the trees of the Woodland Realm. She was more at home among the elves of Lorien than the delicately crafted architecture of Elrond Half-Elven's home. They had come from Mirkwood, Brianne to seek knowledge of healing, Araelle to learn of her foresight, and both longed to return.

They slept late, for Brianne had been in the Halls of Healing til the early hours, and Araelle had had dreams of shadows and fires, and tumbling through both, a golden ring carved with fell words. It whispered of happiness and safety, but through it, she saw creeping rot and spreading shadows, and woke to sunlight.

A great Council had been set for that day, so they dressed in fair clothes, Brianne in raiment of dark grey with a belt of silver, Araelle in emerald green with a twisting copper belt. Circlets of woven silver shone on their brows and in their hair. Araelle braided Brianne's dark curls from her face, and Brianne returned the favour on Araelle's red-blonde waves.

And so they went to the Council and listened to the tales told. The ring was brought out, the same golden circle that Araelle had seen in her dreams, and so, as everyone around her leapt up and argued, Araelle crept to the plinth it lay upon and slid it on her finger.

Silence overtook the Council as they looked at the green-dressed elf with a ring upon her finger. Blood trickled down her face from her ears, and when she blinked, red tears welled up in her eyes. Her breath was loud now, and she started to cough, as though there was something stuck in her throat.

She fell to her hands and knees, and continued to cough, blood falling from her lips, streaming from her eyes and dripping from her ears. She vaguely noted people crowding in around her, and her vision, red-blurred as it was, focused on deep blue eyes of her Prince of the Woodland Realm. Then another face took his place - Brianne, her dark curls unbound, dark eyes staring into hers even as Araelle coughed and struggled to breathe. Brianne wrested one hand from the stones of the courtyard and with a yank, pulled the Ring from her finger, tossing it onto the plinth.

Araelle coughed up one more burst of blood, then breathed easy.

Brianne and Legolas helped her up and in to the nearest chair, where Brianne checked for injury.

'You fool! Whatever possessed you to do such a thing!' she scolded the fair-haired elleth, who lowered her eyes to her lap. Elrond passed her a vial of a clear substance, which she drank.

'Miruvor,' Brianne whispered as Araelle drank. Araelle ran her hands over her face and stared mutely at them as they came away with blood. She shook her head and spoke to the Council who watched her with varying expressions of awe and distrust.

'The Ring did. I've seen it in my dreams, in shadow and fire. I was foolish. I thought - well it matters little what I thought. The Ring was in my dreams since it arrived in Rivendell, showing me things, terrible things. I am a Sylvan elf of Mirkwood, though I am here because I, like Elrond Peredhel, have the gift, or curse, of foresight. The Ring has been twisting my visions, showing me things that go against everything else I have seen, showing me Mirkwood turned Greenwood the Great once more, the kingdoms of Man a shining splendour, the Elf-homes light and joyful, the dwarven mines filled with the forge-fires and the Shadow banished. But it shows me alive those who will die, whom I have Seen die. It tempts me with false promises. I will not touch it again. I _cannot_ touch it, for I fear if I did, it would will me.

'The Ring must be destroyed. I see this, but if I fall once more to the call of the Ring, then there is no hope.'

When she had finished, there was general agreement, then Frodo spoke up.

'I will take the Ring to Mordor, though I do not know the way.'

The Council had ended with Frodo and Sam being selected and scouts riding out.

Brianne and Araelle retreated to their rooms. There Brianne snatched up a mirror and held it up for Araelle. Confused, the elf glanced into the mirror and stopped. For now she saw the reason why many stared at her throughout the remainder of the Council - her strawberry blonde waves faded to white halfway down her back, and a ring of gold was set around the blue-grey of her eyes.

After a moment, she covered her face and looked away, tears glimmering in her eyes.

In part for her hair, the colour - a rarity in Mirkwood, often prized - faded, in part for her eyes, forever tainted by the Mark of the Ring, and in part because she Saw a glimpse of the future - Galadriel's hands holding a vial of starlight, and an elf with riotous dark curls dancing on Caradhas.

And behind closed eyelids, she saw the Ring, falling through shadows, lit from below by an unseen flame, elvish letters shining in the darkness.

And a phrase of a song caught in her ears:

_Three rings for the elven-kings under the sky_

**Feedback is greatly appreciated!**

**~Queen of the Rings**


	3. 2 - Seven for the dwarf-lords

The Nine Walkers of the Fellowship of the Ring had been chosen, and neither Araelle nor Brianne had been selected, to their relief. However, Brianne had volunteered them to act as scouts, or messengers, sent ahead to the Kingdoms of Man and the Elven Cities to warn them of coming danger and salvation.

And so, early one morning before the Fellowship set off, Brianne and Araelle were farewelled and sung down the track.

They travelled light, each needing only a blanket to sleep under, as they could climb and rest in trees. They each carried small bags filled with spices and vegetables, so that they need only add meat and water for a meal. They carried small metal bowls that they could cook in over the fire, then eat from. Lembas filled the rest of their meals. Their fine clothes were carefully packed with jewellery of white starlight gems.

They travelled in the manner of Greenwood Elves, swift and quiet, moving all day and sleeping in trees at night. Their hair was braided to stay off their faces. They seldom kept watches, for bother were well-armed, and it is hard to surprise a Mirkwood Elf, even when they slept.

And because they were swift and silent, and trod lightly, they were over Caradhas in a day, reaching the peak at midday, where Brianne danced, looking out past Lorien and to Mirkwood, Greenwood, their home. Then they climbed down, passing through the Golden Wood like ghosts until they reached Lothlorien, the fair city of Galadriel.

The Marchwarden, Haldir, frowned at them, but Araelle told him that another group would be passing through and though they had a Mirkwood Elf, they were bogged down by the hobbits and a dwarf. Haldir cheered up at that.

Galadriel was a gracious host, but neither elleth felt the desire to look in her mirror.

As they left, she gave them cloaks, fastened with leaf-brooches. Araelle told her to have more on hand, and Brianne scowled and told the Lady of the Golden Wood to get out of her head. Galadriel smiled.

To Brianne she gave a fine set of armour and a Lorien-bow. To Araelle, she gave a circlet of silver set with an elf-stone upon her brow and a phial of starlight. They were given a boat and sailed down the Anduin to Rohan where they went to Edoras.

And in her head, as she though of the Fellowship in Moria, there echoed:

_Seven for the Dwarf-Lords in their halls of Stone._

**This is mostly book-canon with bits of movie canon thrown in.**

**If you could review, that would be great.**

**~Queen of the Rings**


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